Installation for dispensing gasoline

ABSTRACT

Gasoline is brought out of an underground tank by a pump which is housed with the associated filter and air eliminator at a fixed location. Then the gasoline is passed through conduits in an upright support to a dispenser which is suspended from the support and which is displaceable throughout a filling area. This dispenser is provided with a filler hose and indicators showing the type, quantity, and price of the fuel being dispensed. The whole dispenser may be hung from the end of a pair of arms and may be pivotal around a vertical axis on the outermost arm and vertically displaceable so as to allow it to be properly positioned adjacent any vehicle in the filling area. Alternatively, the head may be slidable along a rail fixed on an overhead support and having an outrigger arm holding the filler hose.

United States Patent [191 Junker [451 May 13, 1975 [75] Inventor: Heinrich Junker, Schwelm,

Germany [73] Assignee: Grundstiickverwaltungsgesellschaft Muller & Co. KG, Schwelm, Germany 22 Filed: Aug. 22, 1973 211 App]. No.: 390,601

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 24, 1972 Germany 2241556 [56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,835,896 12/1931 Phillips 222/174 X 1,868,304 7/1932 Cargill 248/298 X Tatsuno 222/74 X 3,603,480 9/1971 lrie et al. 222/35 X 3,705,710 12/1972 Mueller 222/145 X 3,729,627 4/1973 Littell 248/298 X Primary Examiner-Robert B. Reeves Assistant Examiner-Joseph J. Rolla Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Karl F. Ross; Herbert Dubno [57] ABSTRACT Gasoline is brought out of an underground tank by a pump which is housed with the associated filter and air eliminator at a fixed location. Then the gasoline is passed through conduits in an upright support to a dispenser which is suspended from the support and which is displaceable throughout a filling area. This dispenser is provided with a filler hose and indicators showing the type, quantity, and price of the fuel being dispensed. The whole dispenser may be hung from the end of a pair of arms and may be pivotal around a vertical axis on the outermost arm and vertically displaceable so as to allow it to be properly positioned adjacent any vehicle in the filling area. Alternatively, the head may be slidable along a rail fixed on an overhead support and having an outrigger arm holding the filler hose.

3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEU m 1 a 1975 SHEET 2 BF 2 INSTALLATION FOR DISPENSING GASOLINE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a service-station installation and, more particularly, to a system for dispensing gasoline.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In a conventional gasoline-distributing or vehicleservice station, islands are provided each with one or more fixed consoles each provided with one or more hoses and with the indicators for showing the type, quantity, and price of the gasoline dispensed. The vehicle to be supplied with gasoline is pulled up alongside such a console and the hose is pulled out around it to fill it up. When the filling operation is completed, the gasoline is paid for and the vehicle is moved on so that the next customer may have access to the console. Should the vehicle being filled with gasoline also be in need of oil, transmission fluid, or the like, the additional service is generally started as the vehicle fuel tank is filled and usually takes longer than the filling so that the following customer must wait until all the various operations are completed and the bill taken care of before the vehicle moves off and he can assume its place next to the console for gasoline.

The console houses a pump, an air separator, a meter of some variety for measuring the amount (volume) of gasoline pumped to the hose, a gear drive for transforming the quantity into the appropriate price, and a filter for the gasoline. These items are relatively bulky. The hose is usually provided on its end with a complicated piston-type nozzle which includes a valve which may be opened and closed manually, and which closes automatically when the gasoline in the tank rises in the vehicle-tank filler tube to the nozzle and actuates a sensor therein.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved gasoline-dispensing installation.

Another object is the provision of a system for dispensing gasoline or the like which overcomes the above-given disadvantages.

Yet another object is to provide an improved gasoline-dispensing console.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These objects are attained according to the present invention in an apparatus wherein the console is hung from an overhead support and is displaceable adjacent a station at which a plurality of motor vehicles can stand. The console is displaceable along the support and is provided with a dispensed-gasoline indicator and a filling hose so that it may move along the support to dispense gasoline to two different vehicles parked alongside. In this manner while the one driver pays his bill or receives other service the console can be moved to service the next customer.

The console according to the present invention is provided with a filler hose and valve means for controlling gasoline flow therethrough, as well as an indicator indicating the quantity of gasoline dispensed and/or the price for the gasoline dispensed. The pump, filter, air eliminator, and other associated devices which displace the gasoline out of the subterranean tank are mounted on or below ground out of the way.

In accordance with this invention the indicator is electronic and connected to a fluid meter in the form of a rotary-piston meter, nutating-disk meter, or the like which may be mounted in the displaceable console or with the pump and other fixed devices. Such an indicator is extremely small and light so that the console can be an easily displaced service head.

According to another feature of the present invention the console is provided with a proximity switch which senses the presence a vehicle adjacent it and only allows gasoline to be pumped when a vehicle is alongside. In addition, the filling valve can be provided in the console so that a simple straight-through filling tube is used, and means is provided for shutting off the flow of gasoline when the hose end is not in place in a filling tube of a vehicular gas tank.

The console according to the invention can be operable by push buttons to dispense one or more grades of gasoline. Furthermore, the console can be displaceable simply by means of pushing it to the appropriate place next to the vehicle to be filled up, or powered control means may be provided to move this console up and down and back and forth within a predetermined zone at the filling area.

Such an arrangement allows a single pump to be used with a high degree of efficiency. Two persons can dispense gasoline, one actually filling the vehicle tanks and the other collecting money, writing credit-card charges and doing other operations such as checking oil and cleaning Windshields. There is no need to clear one vehicle completely through the filling area before another can be serviced since the console can be moved down to the next customer vehicle while the one just serviced is still in its filling area.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the .following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION As shown in FIG. 1 a vehicle V stands in an area A where it can have its tank filled with gasoline. An island 19 at this area A is provided with a dispenser 1 having a filter 2, a pump 3, and an air eliminator 4 for bringing gasoline up from a subterranean storage tank.

The gasoline is dispensed from heads or consoles 5 which each have a price indicator-calculator 6 and a filling hose 7 with a nozzle 8. Each head 5 is vertically displaceable on a vertical rod 9 as shown by arrow 14 and is rotatable about the axis of the rod 9 as shown by arrow 13. This rod 9 depends from the free end of a horizontal arm 12 pivoted about a vertical axis 12A on the end of another horizontal arm 11 pivoted at 11A on an overhead support 20 on an upright 21. The heads 5 are each provided with a handle 22 so that an operator can pull them into any desired position in the area A. There is room in this area for six vehicles so that these two heads 5 can dispense gasoline to all of them. Conduits are provided in the upright 21 and through arms l1 and 12 as well as through the rods 9 to supply gasoline under pressure to the hoses 7. One of these conduits is shown at 22. In addition, means is provided operable from a control station 23 on the post 21 for displacing the heads and raising and lowering them hydraulically or mechanically.

Each console 5 is provided with a set of dispensing pushbuttons l6 and with two filler hoses. There are three such buttons 16, one for dispensing regular gasoline, one for a higher octane gasoline, and one to stop the dispensing of either type. A proximity switch 17 on each head 5 prevents gasoline from being dispensed unless a vehicle is adjacent the head, and an air hose 18 is also provided so that tires may also be checked right at the head 5.

The hoses 7 are of the type having at their nozzles 8 valves which only open when gasoline is supplied to the other end of the hose under considerable pressure. A sensor is also provided at the nozzle so that a valve is closed in the head 5 to stop fluid flow into the hose 7 when the fill tube in the tank of the vehicle being supplied with gasoline is filled with gas, so as to leave the hose full of gasoline and not overfill the vehicles tank.

The arrangement shown in FIG. 2 has an overhead rail 10 carried on two uprights 24. A carriage is slidable along this rail 10 and supports a head 5 via a rod 9. In addition, an outrigger arm 25 pivotal about the axis of the rod 9' holds one end of the filler hose 7' normally having its other end held in the head 5. In this arrangement the operator, after he has finished filling up the tank of one car, merely pushes the unit 15, 9', 5' along the rail 10 to the next vehicle to fill that one up. The hose 7' can be held by a conventional reel arrangement, or be stored in sinuous position so that the operator can pull out what he needs. A pumping device 1 located under the island 19 pumps gasoline up form a subteranean tank 26.

I claim:

1. An installation for dispensing gasoline or the like to a motor vehicle at a filling area, said installation comprising:

an overhead support at said area;

a displaceable dispensing head provided with a price indicator, a filler hose, and value means for controlling gasoline flow through said hose;

support means suspending said head from said support for horizontal movement of said head jointly with said indicator, hose, and valve means in all horizontal directions throughout said area;

means for vertical movement of said head relative to said support;

means for rotation of said head about a vertical axis;

a stationary pump remote from said head for drawing gasoline out of a supply thereof;

conduit means extending between said pump and said head for supplying said gasoline to said head, said support means including at least two arms, one of said arms being pivoted on said support and the other arm being pivoted on said one arm and carrying said head, and switch means on said head and connected to said pump for sensing the proximity of a motor vehicle to said head and allowing dispensing of gasoline only when a vehicle is adjacent said head.

2. An installation for dispensing gasoline or the like to a motor vehicle at a filling area, said installation comprising:

an overhead support at said area;

a displaceable dispensing head provided with a price indicator, a filler hose, and valve means for controlling gasoline flow through said hose;

support means suspending said head from said support for horizontal movement of said head jointly with said indicator, hose, and valve means in all horizontal directions throughout said area;

means for vertical movement of said head relative to said support;

means for rotation of said head about a vertical axis;

a stationary pump remote from said head for drawing gasoline out of a supply thereof; and

conduit means extending between said pump and said head for supplying said gasoline to said head, said support means being a rail fixed to said support and said head is slidable along said rail.

3. An installation for dispensing gasoline or the like to a motor vehicle at a filling area, said installation comprising:

an overhead support at said area;

a displaceable dispensing head provided with a price indicator, a filler hose, and valve means for controlling gasoline flow through said hose;

support means suspending said head from said support for horizontal movement of said head jointly with said indicator, hose, and valve means in all horizontal directions throughout said area;

means for vertical movement of said head relative to said support;

means for rotation of said head about a vertical axis;

a stationary pump remote from said head for drawing gasoline out of a supply thereof; and

conduit means extending between said pump and said head for supplying said gasoline to said head, said means being a rail fixed to said support and said head includes an outrigger arm pivotal about a vertical axis and carrying said hose. 

1. An installation for dispensing gasoline or the like to a motor vehicle at a filling area, said installation comprising: an overhead support at said area; a displaceable dispensing head provided with a price indicator, a filler hose, and value means for controlling gasoline flow through said hose; support means suspending said head from said support for horizontal movement of said head jointly with said indicator, hose, and valve means in all horizontal directions throughout said area; means for vertical movement of said head relative to said support; means for rotation of said head about a vertical axis; a stationary pump remote from said head for drawing gasoline out of a supply thereof; conduit means extending between said pump and said head for supplying said gasoline to said head, said support means including at least two arms, one of said arms being pivoted on said support and the other arm being pivoted on said one arm and carrying said head, and switch means on said head and connected to said pump for sensing the proximity of a motor vehicle to said head and allowing dispensing of gasoline only when a vehicle is adjacent said head.
 2. An installation for dispensing gasoline or the like to a motor vehicle at a filling area, said installation comprising: an overhead support at said area; a displaceable dispensing head provided with a price indicator, a filler hose, and valve means for controlling gasoline flow through said hose; support means suspending said head from said support for horizontal movement of said head jointly with said indicator, hose, and valve means in all horizontal directions throughout said area; means for vertical movement of said head relative to said support; means for rotation of said head about a vertical axis; a stationary pump remote from said head for drawing gasoline out of a supply thereof; and conduit means extending between said pump and said head for supplying said gasoline to said head, said support means being a rail fixed to said support and said head is slidable along said rail.
 3. An insTallation for dispensing gasoline or the like to a motor vehicle at a filling area, said installation comprising: an overhead support at said area; a displaceable dispensing head provided with a price indicator, a filler hose, and valve means for controlling gasoline flow through said hose; support means suspending said head from said support for horizontal movement of said head jointly with said indicator, hose, and valve means in all horizontal directions throughout said area; means for vertical movement of said head relative to said support; means for rotation of said head about a vertical axis; a stationary pump remote from said head for drawing gasoline out of a supply thereof; and conduit means extending between said pump and said head for supplying said gasoline to said head, said means being a rail fixed to said support and said head includes an outrigger arm pivotal about a vertical axis and carrying said hose. 